NEW Restaurant Review: Henry's at the Waterfront Resort in HB

So dinner at the beach is always special, but dinner at the beach with a view, and an amazing meal, is an event.  

I'm happy to advise all you beach view lovers that the *NEW* Henry's Ocean View Dining at the Waterfront Resort Beach Hotel in Huntington Beach is now open!  Trust me, you're not going to want to miss this fabulous new option for waterfront dining in Orange County.

For those not aware, the Waterfront Beach Resort Hotel (formerly the Huntington Beach Hilton) has recently undergone a three year renovation, and has also rebranded and redone their dining concepts. 

The former Shades space has been transformed into a beautiful new oceanfront dining experience.  Even with the stunning location across from the sparkling Pacific Ocean, Henry's offers so much more than just a gorgeous view.  

Chef Kenny Siegler's inspired intention to highlight fresh local ingredients along with purveying some of the best meats and pork from the most highly regarded farms in the country shines through with every bite. All you have to do is look at the menu to see prime ingredients featured throughout including Mangalitsa Pork and A5 Japanese Myazaki Tenderloin.  Ingredients you don't see in many places in Southern California, and even less in Orange County. 

When I visited, we left ourselves in the hands of the Chef, and asked him to select his favorite items for us to try. The first dish delivered to the table was the Santa Barbara Prawns. They come out served with a crunchy celery pico and a poured at the table, carrot consomme. Yes, we did have to ask our awesome waiter, Jeff instructions on how to eat them as these beautiful prawns were the size of our hands. With a quick twist, these shells released the most sweet and tender shrimp meat, basted with butter and dripping with the carrot consomme. They were pure heaven and reminiscent of sweet Maine lobster meat. 

One of my most favorite dishes was a unique pasta that the Chef learned how to make in Italy, and to which he gave his own California twist. Buttery soft and tender, the Testaroli Pasta is served with a yummy cream of kale sauce, alpage sbrinz cheese and blistered cherry tomatoes. Pure heaven in a bowl...

We were also beyond thrilled to try the rare Mangalista Pork, a rarity on OC menus. 
If you've ever experienced this ancient Hungarian pork that's making a resurgence in the fine dining world, then you know it’s the Kobe beef of pork. Basically, it's marbled to melt in your mouth deliciousness and I must admit it lived up to the hype and did not disappoint! This is a MUST order if you visit.


Along with the pork, we also had a couple interesting sides including the Buttermilk Polenta and the Spring Carrots. The Buttermilk Polenta comes out creamy and cooked perfectly. We later learned that it's actually made with buttermilk resulting from the in-house butter churning. I love the whole use concept they're employing by using every part of the butter making, and it made for some incredibly delicious polenta. 

No matter how full you are after your fabulous meal at Henry's be sure to indulge in dessert, as it's well worth saving some room! 

Desserts I was fortunate to try first-hand include the light and flavorful Pomegranate Mousse with chocolate crumble and blood orange sabayon, and the decadent Milk Chocolate Mousse that sits atop an ameratti hazelnut cake and stuffed with a rich creamy caramel filling. 

Dinner at Henry's is an experience, and one I won't soon forget. I was beyond impressed with this new elegant dining option in Huntington Beach. There has clearly been extensive thought put into everything from the modern decor, the impeccable yet friendly service, and the choice of the highest quality ingredients in every dish. 

If Chef Siegler's current seasonal menu is any indication, I expect Henry's will quickly become one of Orange County's select destination dining locations. 

Henry's is found inside The Waterfront Beach Resort, a Hilton Hotel, and is located on Pacific Coast Highway in beautiful Huntington Beach, California. 

Location: 21100 Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach. For reservations, call 714/845-8000 or on Open Table. 

More information, including the current menu, can be found on the restaurant's website: 

https://www.waterfrontresort.com/dining/henrys-restaurant

Don't forget to tell them OCFoodieGirl sent you! ;) 

National Donut Day is Friday, June 7th!

Friday, June 7th is National Donut Day and you know what that means? Donut deals galore - some free, some free with purchase and some just offering unique donuts for one day only! Whichever you chose there's no better excuse (as if you need one?!) to get your donut on this Friday! 

On to the donut deals...

Duck Donuts - a relative newcomer to the area, having opened locations in HB and Irvine in the past year, is offering a FREE classic donut to everyone as part of their Sweet Summer Beach Bash to celebrate National Donut Day!  Pop by one of their locations anytime on Friday for a FREE one! Classic flavors include bare, cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar. Duck donuts specializes in hot made-to-order cake donuts. No purchase or coupon necessary. Limit one donut per guest. 

Irvine: 2222 Michelson Drive, #200  and HB: 18591 Main Street. 

Dunkin - having made a return to So Cal in recent years, there's a Dunkin in almost every town in OC. To  celebrate National Donut Day, Dunkin is offering a FREE donut of YOUR choice with any beverage purchase. 

Krispy Kreme is going one step further for National Donut Day by not only giving everyone a FREE donut of their choice (no purchase required) but by also attempting to give away a million donuts and if they reach it, they are vowing to do another FREE donut day later this month! 

Local favorite Sidecar Doughnuts in Costa Mesa is giving the first 50 peeps a FREE limited edition National Doughnut Day hat and a FREE Doughnut card! They open at 6:30 a.m. so set your alarm clock! 

The yummy GLEE donuts in Anaheim and Fountain Valley is offering a FREE donut to the first 50 peeps! 1 per customer while supplies last. Both location open at 5:30 a.m.!

One more.. if you happen to be Walmart, the word is they are giving out FREE glazed doughnuts in their bakery sections on Friday too. Free is free right? ;) 

The above are just the deals that were announced! I would check with our favorite donut shop to see if they're offering a deal - you never know! Enjoy your donuts!

NEW Restaurant Review: Gram's Kitchen in La Palma

As a lover of all things Southern, I was more than a little intrigued when I heard that a new Southern restaurant recently opened in Orange County. Southern food and GOOD southern food even more so, is a rarity in our lovely county but with the opening of Gram's Kitchen in La Palma this culinary injustice may soon be rectified! 

Upon entering you'll be greeted with a warm ambiance, lots of unique stuff to inspect including the owner's grandfather's old record collection framed on the walls. if you come on a Saturday, you might also notice the live jazz playing in the corner - which was the case when I visited. Apparently, it happens quite often on Saturday evenings and really makes for a nice dinner. 

Ritz and Grits 

The menu got me excited with traditional dishes like crawfish cakes, fried okra and spicy jambalaya. Staples at any southern restaurant but even so, I was intrigued by Gram's concept of California Creole so I opted for the Ritz and Grits dish described as sauteed Cajun shrimp, hot link sausage, and crispy bacon over cheesy grits. Now, grits can either make or a break a dish as cooked poorly they can be either mushy or grainy. It's a bit of an art form to get grits to just the right consistency where they're creamy and fluffy.  I'm more than happy to report that Gram's is getting it right!  A mound of the most perfectly cooked creamy cheesy grits come topped with a decadent roux sauce loaded with jumbo shrimp, plump sausage slices and large slivers of crispy bacon. 

The Southern Bowl

My friend ordered the Southern Bowl - which reminded me of a pan roast as it's really a melange of proteins in a delicious Cajun gravy.  The plate comes filled with crawish meat, shrimp, hot links corn and topped with crispy onions and a generous scoop of jasmine rice. Definitely a feast and something to order when you're feeling extra hungry! What I loved about this dish is that it really has a little bit of everything so if you're having a hard time deciding what to order this is a great option! 

We also both really LOVED the cajun chicken wings - cooked up perfectly and served with a homemade ranch and buffalo sauce. Be prepared cuz these come as a generous portion even though they're soooo good you may not want to share! ;) 

Cajun Wings

They also serve brunch/lunch with different menu items from dinner, and look pretty amazing. Also, be sure to say hello to Jordan, one of the owners/Chef, who's as sweet as can be and will quickly make you feel like family! He also told me the food is all based on his Grandma's recipes - hence the name.  When he shared that with me, it all made sense as you can feel the love in every bite! 

Grams Kitchen is located at 12 Centerpointe Drive #106 in La Palma. 

Current hours: Monday - Friday, 8am to 9pm

For more info, follow then on instagram or Facebook as @gramskitchenlapalma

Admittedly, finding Gram's takes a bit of luck as it's located in the large Centerpointe complex, adjacent to the Kaiser office and my GPS didn't serve me well to direct me in exactly which part of the complex Gram's was located. However, you only be lost one time cuz once you've visited you'll remember that it actually faces Valley View even though the GPS may direct you to turn at La Palma. 

Don't forget to tell them OCFOODIEGIRL sent you! ;)